Over the Falls
by queenpearl
Summary: Britannia and Shadow get a little too close to the Falls.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm gonna get you!"

"No you're not!"

"Oh yes I am!" Long Shadow tackled Britannia and the older ship went down with her on top. "Haha, gotya!" She giggled.

"Oh no, am I your prisoner now?" Britannia asked, faking horror.

"Yep and now you'll have to do exactly as I say." Long Shadow smirked.

"And what happens if I refuse?" Britannia asked, her eyes glinting with humor.

"Then I'll sentence you to 100 kisses and 10 orgasms." Long Shadow replied.

"Sounds like a cruel punishment." Britannia laughed. "Alright, you're in charge. What are your orders?"

"First you take me to dinner." Long Shadow began. "Then you show me the sunset." She continued, planting a kiss on Britannia's hull with each and every word.

"Will you fire the green flash?" Britannia asked.

"Yes, I will fire the green flash and we'll be on our way home." Long Shadow finished.

"Sounds like a day in Dutchman's prison camp." Britannia purred. "Bring it."

"As you wish, love." Long Shadow replied, kissing her cheek.

"Mmm.." Britannia purred. Righting herself the old ship fell in beside her apprentice as the two sailed away.

"Now you wait here, my prisoner." Long Shadow smirked at Britannia.

Britannia dropped her storm anchor. "I will be here when you get back." She promised with a dip of her prow. Long Shadow smiled and sailed off.

A ways out she spotted what she was looking for, a herd of cod. It was approaching spawning season, and all the fish herded to the Labrador coastline to mate. Well two fish wouldn't have the chance to pass on their genes if Long Shadow had anything to say about it. Her eye fell on two stragglers and waiting just a moment more, she pounced. Snatching up both in her jaws, she dispatched them with one swift bite and carried their dead bodies back to the waiting Britannia.

Britannia was right where Long Shadow had left her. She stayed put as Long Shadow brought her dinner. "Ooh, my favorite." She giggled.

"Knew you'd like it love." Long Shadow purred as she kissed her cheek.

Britannia returned it with a kiss of her own before the pair dug into their supper. Once finished, Britannia swiped her tongue once around her jaws to get the last scraps of cod off, then said "That was delicious, Dutchman. Thank you."

Long Shadow grinned. "Now I think it's time for us to go home, love." She purred.

"I notice you didn't call me prisoner this time." Britannia said, leaning into her.

"I am more your prisoner than you are mine. I was yours from the minute I first saw you." Long Shadow replied.

Britannia purred, nuzzling her. Then stiffened, raising her head all her senses tuned in.

"What, what is it?" Long Shadow asked.

"I-I didn't realize how far we'd come." Britannia whispered. Long Shadow was unnerved at the sound of real fear in her voice. If Britannia was afraid then she had good cause to be concerned.

Britannia looked back at her apprentice. "Dutchman, how much time until the sun goes down?" She asked.

Long Shadow looked back at the setting sun and replied "About 15 minutes."

Britannia did a quick calculation and cursed. "There's not enough time!" She said. "Set all the sails Dutchman, and pray we have enough wind to fight the current."

"Britannia, what's going on? Where are we? What's back there?" Long Shadow asked, trying to look astern. All she saw was a distinctive curved shape on the horizon line. Something that one would expect to see in rivers, not oceans. "That isn't..." She whispered.

"The Falls." Britannia swore. "It's as deep as Everest is high. The edge of the world. In some places it drops straight off into the Locker. At others, it goes down in shelves. Here it's in shelves. If we go over that, we might never come up again."

That was all the argument Long Shadow needed. She set every inch of threadbare sail, even watering them down to catch the wind better but the current was too strong and the closer it dragged her to the falls, the harder it became to fight it.

Soon the two ships weren't making any headway, then they were being dragged, slowly at first but gaining speed, towards the Falls behind them...


	2. Chapter 2

Long Shadow knew they were screwed the minute she felt herself slipping backwards. The sun was setting but not quick enough.

"How much time?" Britannia called beside her.

"Not enough." Long Shadow replied.

Britannia swore again. Long Shadow looked at her mentor to see how quickly she was tiring. Despite her agelessness, Britannia was an old ship, period. She was due for an overhaul back in England as much of her planking was seeing the end of its days. Plus she needed a new design to match the times as well.

"Hold on Britannia." Long Shadow begged.

"I-I'm trying, Dutchman." Britannia panted, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She had a bigger set of canvas than her apprentice but still couldn't hold her ground. The pair were slipping backwards at an increasing rate.

At last Britannia furled her sails and said "hold on to me. There's no choice now, we have to go over."

"Are you sure? What's the best way?" Long Shadow asked.

"Diagonally, that way we won't tip over as easily." Britannia replied.

"Britannia, I-I'm scared." Long Shadow whimpered.

"I know, Shadow." Britannia replied, holding her tighter at this. "I am too."

Both could hear the roar of the falls now. "Hold on tight and don't let go, whatever happens." Britannia ordered.

Long Shadow nodded, burying her bow into her mentor's side as she entwined their rigging lines. The force of the current began to swing them around broadside and it was a struggle for Britannia to hold her ground against it.

"Hold on!" She shouted as the pair began to go over, stern first.

"Whoa!" Long Shadow cried, clinging tight to Britannia.

"It's okay, it's okay." The older ship assured her.

Then everything became a freakish whiteout after that. The pair tumbled down the series of ledges that Britannia had said were there. Though they came close to separating a few times, Long Shadow clung tight and it wasn't until the last ledge where they struck hard enough to be separated. Long Shadow thought she heard Britannia gasp in pain but she wasn't sure for the next instant they struck the ocean at the bottom.

Long Shadow, with her underwater sailing abilities, found her keel quickly and sailed up to the surface. Coughing up several mouthfuls of salt water, she looked around for Britannia. No sign of her mentor. Next she tried the bond but that wasn't working either. Britannia obviously had her mental shields up and it turned out to be for good reason.

Long Shadow caught a glimpse of her mentor, bobbing up and down at the base of the falls. She was trapped there, unable to surface due to the weight of the water and the low buoyancy of the water due to all that air in the white foam.

"BRITANNIA!" Long Shadow screamed and diving beneath the surface she raced in to catch her mentor before she drowned.

Britannia struggled for a bit before she went still, slowly sinking towards the ocean floor. Long Shadow caught her and carried her back to the surface. Lying her down on her side, Long Shadow could see that she'd clearly hit something on her way down. Her whole side was torn wide open. The skin was folded back and her ribcage was fully exposed. She wasn't breathing.

Quickly, Long Shadow set to work, pounding her weight against the older ship's lungs. She was trying to be careful of the fragile looking bones that were exposed.

"Come on Britannia, don't leave me." She begged.

Britannia convulsed under her and coughed up mouthfuls of bloody water before lying there, panting. "S-Shadow..." She croaked.

"Here. Right here." Long Shadow replied.

"How bad is it?" Britannia groaned.

"Bad." Long Shadow replied.

"Can you be more specific than that?" Britannia asked.

"You're whole side is cut open. I can see your ribcage rising and falling as your breathe." Long Shadow replied.

"D-damn." Britannia shivered.

"I have to do something about that wound." Long Shadow said.

"Do what you can." Britannia rasped.

"I'm so sorry about this, Britannia." Long Shadow said as she used some of her own planking to start a brief fire to heat up a knife. She pulled the skin back to where it was supposed to be, then placed the glowing hot blade up close to the gap.

Britannia winced as Long Shadow began to cataract the wound. "Shh, shh. You're okay." She whispered, holding her mentor down.

Britannia kept still for her as she worked. "There, sealed up tight." Long Shadow said and helped her mentor upright.

"Gah!" Britannia gasped, stumbling against her.

"Easy now, I've got you." Long Shadow whispered to her.

"It hurts, Shadow. It hurts." Britannia whimpered.

"I know, just take it easy." Long Shadow replied.

Britannia snuggled into her side. "We can't stay here." She rasped.

"No, try and sail as much as you can. I'll help you home." Long Shadow replied.

Her gaze locked on the rising sun. Could she use it to travel somewhere within the locker? She never tried it before but decided it was their best bet. Concentrating hard, Long Shadow gathered up her strength and holding Britannia close to her side, fired up the green flash. It was difficult to focus but when Long Shadow opened her eyes next, she found herself right in her berth at home, Britannia still snuggled into her side.

"You-you did it, Shadow..." She murmured.

Long Shadow licked her. "You wait here, I'll be right back with some medicine." She replied.

She returned with a few herb leaves that she set down in front of Britannia. Britannia was reluctant to eat them but at some insistence from Long Shadow, she did.

Once finished, she rolled on her side in her berth. Long Shadow remained beside her. "Rest now my love." She murmured. Britannia offered her a gentle smile in reply and closed her eyes.

Her mental barriers down as she rested, Britannia's dreams were open to Long Shadow's mind. If need be, the younger ship could redirect them someplace happier and more peaceful to guarantee Britannia didn't have nightmares.

Though she was tired herself, Long Shadow refused to close her eyes and rest, keeping faithful watch over her mate throughout the night.


End file.
